I expected Stafford to laugh and tell me I was still young, that I must wait my turn: the stock response of those who have accomplished in life what they want to—to whom, with the perspective their success lends them, the path looks easy. But he considered it seriously. “I know it’s difficult,” he said. “Believe me, I’ve been where you are now. The most important thing is to continue to do the thing you want to, to keep battling on. That, in my opinion, is the main part of the struggle. Most give up when it seems too difficult.”
